Beegie Adair Style Sus Chords
In this lesson we explore a secret ingredient to Beegie Adair’s captivating solo piano performances; sus chords.
We start with the basic sus chord theory, we then apply the theory to the 251 progression, and finally we analyse Beegie Adair’s solo piano rendition of the tune “When I Fall In Love”.
Related Lessons
In this lesson we explore the A Section of the tune “But Beautiful” as arranged by Beegie Adair in her solo piano recording of the tune.
Upper structure triads are complex altered dominant chord voicings that are widely used in solo jazz piano performance.
An important point with sus chords is that we often resolve the suspended 4th to turn the chord into a regular dominant 7th voicing.
Practice Tips
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Learn the 4 variations of the sus chord and memorise the formula so that build them in any key.
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Visualise the left and right hand chord structures independently which gives you more creativity and freedom when choosing sus chord voicings.
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Find opportunities to apply sus chords in other jazz standards and tunes that you are working on.
